This is the corner of the summerhouse or what is left of the summerhouse that the squirrels keep falling out of, or trying to climb out of. You cannot see the wire I wrapped around the drainpipe very well. Years ago I did that when we had real babies that fell out, and tried to climb back up the pipe before the dogs got them,and could not.Catching an adult squirrel is one thing, but catching and killing the babies is something else again. I figured they at least deserved a chance. My mistake.
This is Nigel at his "Post". He is sitting beneath the drainpipe. He is waiting for the Dog Gods to drop a squirrel out of that hole into his waiting jaws. Yesterday, when this was taken and when we could hear the squirrel scrambling around up there, Nigel sat like this for about 45 minutes. For awhile, Llewis sat to his left at the other entrance to the nest, but he got bored and left. Conley was doing re-con. Nigel was on a Mission: the others really were not.
Conley is helping. He is peering into the summerhouse because once a squirrel got trapped in there by the dogs. He can probably hear the squirrel overhead, but doesn't have the experience at squirreling that Nigel does. He looked in that window and then would go to his right and try to look in the window down there. There is no glass- only screens that wind and probably animals have torn.
Unfortunately part of that stuff where he is going to land is a wild rose, with very nasty thorns. Conley seems to have just remembered that and is now wondering how the hell to get down without landing on it. (I lifted him down.) All this time the squirrel was running back and forth up there. He had finally realised that there was a pack of bloodthirsty wolves at his door and they were not hunting toads. Nigel was sitting in the same spot, in the same position, waiting like a giant, tri-colored cat.
Cooper's role was that of sentry, I guess. Or maybe a member of a peace-keeping organization. One with teeth. I do not think even Cooper would try to take a squirrel from Nigel. Time wore on and the squirrel finally quit running back and forth. After about 45 minutes, all the dogs had given up. Even Nigel came in. Every time he goes outside he instantly checks that spot, sniffs all around the summerhouse to make sure he has not missed anything. He checks the top of the fence as he goes out the door. Sooner or later........Sooner or later....
